Sunday, 14 February 2010

Even in so-called developed societies people need reminding not to chuck inappropriate objects down their flush toilet. Here in Yorkshire, England, the local water supply and sewerage undertaker, Yorkshire Water, has all sorts of problems due to this. Here what it says on its webpage Bin it. Don’t flush it:

Yorkshire’s sewers are being abused and it’s causing all kinds of problems. You wouldn't believe some of the things we find down the sewer − nappies, false teeth, fat, Christmas trees and even a Spacehopper! As funny as that sounds, all of these things can cause the sewer to stop working and this can lead to flooding. 50% of all blockages are caused by people putting the wrong things down the sewer and the effects can be very unpleasant.

Numptee is the cartoon star of Yorkshire Water’s campaign to get people to stop doing this – you can “check out his videos to find out how he’s creating all kinds of havoc in his home by putting the wrong things down his toilet and sink.”

Wednesday, 10 February 2010

The United Nations Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (which Kofi Annan set up in 2004) released the Hashimoto Action Plan in 2006 − pdf here. Read what it said on sanitation on pages 6−7 of this file. [Actually part of what it said was that it would “call on the academic and scientific community for accelerated research on alternative models and technologies to improve sanitation such as eco-sanitation, the vacuum car and treatment plant system, and urine separation from sewage” – so somewhat odd. Who on earth, you might reasonably ask, advised this Advisory Board?]

I’ve just received an email announcing the release of the Hashimoto Action Plan II which sets out UNSGAB’s “Strategy and Objectives through 2012”. Here’s part of what the email said:

The United Nations Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB) is embarking on their next strategic phase with the release of the Hashimoto Action Plan II. In only a few years, world leaders will assess progress made towards the Millennium Development Goals, including the targets to halve by 2015 the number of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Getting the right policies, strategies and actions in place during the next three years is absolutely critical. The Hashimoto Action Plan II contributes to this effort by motivating, convening and galvanizing its partners to achieve objectives in five key areas: financing, sanitation, monitoring & reporting, integrated water resources management, and water and disaster.

The Hashimoto Action Plan II articulates a time-bound vision, targeted actions and clear outcomes aiming to ensure a future where each child, woman and man enjoys clean water and safe sanitation.

The HAP II brochure says that, concerning sanitation, UNSGAB will “Bring pressure and attention to commitments undertaken during the International Year of Sanitation” and “Improve sanitation and water for schools”. There’s to be a new focus on “Building new impetus for wastewater collection, treatment and reuse”. And there’s more:

Since developing countries treat just a fraction of their wastewater, we need to encourage a move beyond toilets to the other side of sanitation — collecting, reusing and disposing of municipal waste as well as storm water. HAP II includes action on wastewater to protect human health, economic development and ecosystems while also alleviating growing water scarcity in many regions.

Isn’t there a major non sequitur here? Is UNSGAB really saying that, because so little wastewater is treated in developing countries, they should be encouraged to collect, reuse and dispose of municipal [solid, presumably] waste, and stormwater as well? And to do everything by 31 December 2015? Not a chance! But UNSGAB is right to keep reminding the world that it has to do more, much more, for sanitation.

A cynical observer (not that I’m one, of course) might look at the list of where UNSGAB has held its meetings (New York, Tokyo, Rome, Berlin, Mexico City, Paris, Tunis, Shanghai, Bogotá, Tokyo again, Riyadh, Sofia) and wonder if most shouldn’t have been held in countries where local watsan needs were [and still are] at least a little more pressing?

In case you’re interested, the Hashimoto Action Plans are named after the late Ryutaro Hashimoto (1937−2006), who was Prime Minister of Japan during 1996−1998 and the first chairman of UNSGAB.

About Me

I'm an emeritus professor of civil engineering at the University of Leeds in England. I've been working on low-cost sanitation in developing countries since the mid-1970s, and also on low-cost wastewater treatment and reuse. I was a lecturer at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, 1970-73 and then a senior lecturer at the University of Dundee, Scotland, 1974-79 before moving to Leeds in late 1979. I was a visiting professor of sanitary engineering at the Universidade Federal da Paraiba in Campina Grande, northeast Brazil, during 1976-95, and since 1996 I have been a visiting professor of environmental engineering at the Instituto Cinara, Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia.